BAGHDAD: Bombs targeting a take-out restaurant and a commuter bus in the Iraqi capital killed at least four people Monday, highlighting the challenges for Iraqi forces trying to maintain security in the cities after the withdrawal of US combat troops.
A bomb explosion at the Shat Al-Arab kebab shop in western Baghdad killed at least two people Monday, said police. The blast in the mixed Sunni-Shiite district of Bayaii also wounded four people.
A few hours later, a bomb attached to a minibus exploded during afternoon rush hour in the city’s northern Shaab district, killing two people and wounding nine others, said police. The minibus was carrying commuters from the capital’s central bus station.
A day earlier, a bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded near a popular cafe in a largely Sunni district of Baghdad, killing five people. Sixteen people were wounded.
The bombings come as the US military has begun winding down operations in advance of withdrawing combat troops by Aug. 31, 2010.
Elsewhere Monday, gunmen killed a senior police official in Mosul, another police official said.
